Animals were not the only inhabitants known to exist in the area over the centuries. A number of Indian sites have been discovered here by archaeologists. During the first Seminole Indian War in 1818, General Andrew Jackson crossed the river here with his army.

In 1828, when Florida became a U.S. Territory, the first government road across north Florida met the river here in the park. Throughout the 1800s, the Apalachicola River was an important interstate highway. More than 200 steamboats traveled the river during the great trading era, 1840-1910.

During the Civil War, this important route was protected by a six cannon battery located on a bluff. The battery was in place to prevent Union gun boats from passing. The remains of the gun pit can be seen along the bluff trail.

The Gregory House, built in 1849 by Planter Jason Gregory, stood across the river from the park at Ocheesee Landing. Gregory’s plantation prospered until the beginning of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. In 1935, the house was dismantled and moved to its present location in the park by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was developing the park.